ABC News Exclusive: The Secret War Against Iran

A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News. (ABC News)

The Justice Department has charged that agencies of the Indian government participated in a conspiracy to sidestep U.S. export regulations and obtain secret weapons technology from American companies over several years. (International Herald Tribune)

IRAQ NEWS

Deadline Extended for Abducted Germans

An insurgent group that claims to have kidnapped a German woman and her son in Iraq extended a deadline by 10 days for Germany to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan or the hostages would be killed, according to a U.S. group that monitors extremist messages. (AP)

Former Iraqi Justice Minister on Reasons for Stepping Down

Iraqi Justice Minister Hashim al-Shibli told Asharq Al-Awsat that he resigned from his post because his political views differed from those of the government and the Iraqi National List, headed by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

AFGHANISTAN

U.S. - Led Troops Kill 10 Taliban in Afghanistan

U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed at least 10 Taliban fighters on Tuesday in an attack on a compound in the southern province of Helmand after a tip-off that a junior commander was hiding there. (Reuters)

U.S. Transfers Prisoners to Afghan Custody

The U.S. military handed over a group of suspected Taliban rebels to the custody of the Afghan government on Tuesday, the start of a program to transfer all Afghan prisoners it holds both in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo. (Reuters)

PAKISTAN

Protesters Gather at Pakistan Court

Thousands of lawyers and flag-waving political activists rallied for the reinstatement of Pakistan's chief justice Tuesday as he appeared before a judicial panel investigating whether he abused his office. (AP)

Tribesmen Vow to 'Evict al-Qaeda'

The council has raised a Lashkar, or armed troop, to evict the foreigners
Hundreds of tribesmen in Pakistan's tribal area of South Waziristan have been told to oust al-Qaeda-linked foreign militants from the area. (BBC)

JORDAN

Jordan Sentences 6 for Planned Attacks

Jordan's military court convicted six alleged militants of planning suicide attacks against Jordan's main international airport and against hotels hosting Israeli and American tourists. (AP)

DETAINED BRITONS

Tehran Releases Fresh Images of UK Captives

Iran today released new images of its 15 British captives as Tony Blair said the next 48 hours would be "fairly critical" in solving the crisis over their seizure. (Guardian)

Blair: Next 2 Days with Iran are Crucial

The next two days are "fairly critical" to resolving the dispute over a seized British navy crew, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday, after Iran's chief international negotiator offered a new approach to end the standoff with Tehran. (AP)

Iran, Britain Signal Ways Out of Dispute

Iran and Britain signalled possible ways out of the standoff over 15 detained British soldiers on Monday, with Tehran promising to stop airing video confessions and Britain saying it was willing to discuss ways to avoid future confusion regarding the Persian Gulf boundary. (Dawn)

The Botched US Raid that Led to the Hostage Crisis

A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines. (Belfast Telegraph)

IRAN/U.S.

U.S. Ex-FBI Man 'Missing In Iran'

The US government says it is asking Tehran for information about a former FBI agent thought to have gone missing in Iran several weeks ago. (BBC)

U.K.

Cocaine Baron Jailed for 30 Years

The boss of a lucrative international cocaine smuggling empire has been jailed for 30 years. (BBC)

Man Accused of Hacking Faces Extradition

A British man accused of hacking U.S. military and NASA computer systems lost a High Court challenge Tuesday to avoid extradition to the United States. (AP)

MI6 Cold War Spy Revealed As 'Big Fish' Double Agent

Hitler had just been defeated, Stalin was victorious and Viktor Bogomolets was down on his luck. After more than three decades spying for British intelligence, Bogomolets, who began working for MI6 shortly after the Russian revolution, was curtly informed that he had been stripped of his British citizenship. (The Guardian)

U.S.

Pharmacists React to Drug Error Report

Pharmacists reacted strongly to the recent ABC News investigation into errors at big chain drugstores, in comments left on the ABC News Web site. (ABC News)

Chicago Police Head Retires Amid Scandal

Chicago's police superintendent announced Monday he would retire early as his department tries to deal with two highly publicized videotaped beatings involving off-duty police officers. (AP)

Marine Opposed to War Ordered Discharged

A Marine lance corporal who said he had an aversion to killing and participating in war must be released from the military as a conscientious objector, a federal judge ruled. (AP)

Five African Union peacekeepers were killed in a brazen rebel ambush in Darfur less than a mile from their base along Sudan's border with Chad on Sunday evening, the African Union said Monday. (NY Times)

China Raises Darfur as Boosts Ties with Sudan

China has offered Sudan increased military cooperation, but also nudged the African nation towards a compromise on the Darfur crisis where hundreds of thousands are believed to have died. (Reuters)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Iran Emboldened: Tehran Seeks to Dominate Middle East Politics

By Peter Brookes

With the creeping possibility of a nuclear breakout, its vigorous sponsorship of international terrorism and its escalating intervention next door in Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a triple threat — at least — to international security and America's Middle Eastern interests. (Heritage Foundation)

The Re-emergence of Iraq's Top Shiite Cleric

Top Iraqi Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani opposes a new draft law that would allow thousands of former members of the Baath party to return to public life, Reuters reported on Monday, citing an unnamed al-Sistani aide based in the southern Iraqi city of An Najaf. (Stratfor)

Terror Case Plea Deal Sparks Anger in US, Australia
The plea agreement that saw the release of "Aussie Taliban" David Hicks from detention at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has prompted harsh criticism - in the US as being too lenient, and in Australia as being a political tool in the upcoming elections. (Christian Science Monitor)

Orwell at Guantanamo

By Eugene Robinson

Here's what the Bush administration has done to the values, traditions and honor of the United States of America: An accused terrorist claims he confessed to heinous crimes so that agents of the U.S. government would stop torturing him, and no one is shocked or even surprised. (Washington Post)

Showing Mugabe the Door

By Peter Godwin

Ever since Zimbabwe began imploding in 2000, the conventional punditry about its president, Robert Mugabe, has largely been of the good-leader-turns-bad variety. (NY Times)

And the Winner in Iraq Is: the Al-Qaeda Jihadists

By Lawrence Wright

It is a terrible mistake to discount Al-Qaeda's operational abilities, now and in the future. If you read the accounts of Al-Qaeda insiders, the war on terror was essentially over in December 2001, after United States and coalition forces swept aside the Taliban and pummeled Al-Qaeda. (The Daily Star)

Britain Opts for New Nukes

Britain has decided to renew its nuclear deterrent. A parliamentary vote last month sharply divided the ruling Labor Party, forcing Prime Minister Tony Blair to rely on opposition Conservatives to pass the measure. Mr. Blair made his case by arguing that international uncertainty required Britain to be prepared for all security threats. (Japan Times)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.